What I'm Listening To

Stuff I'm Reading/Have Just Read

Snuff - Terry Pratchett

Unexpected Magic - Diana Wynne Jones

Across The Great Barrier - Patricia C. Wrede

Hedy's Folly - Richard Rhodes

The Invisible Man - HG Wells

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Grey Lace!

I finished it! Ok, I finished it a couple of days ago. I was hoping to wear it to the opera this week, but it was cold and rainy and it didn't really go with any of my cold-and-rainy outfits. So sad, because it's awesome:

It turned out to be just the right length--which means it fits on a twin bed for blocking. I would have liked it to be a little wider, but it is certainly Wide Enough, and I imagine I will get a lot of wear out of it. When it's either a lot colder than it is now, or just a bit warmer.

Anyway, for those of you who care about that sort of thing, I did a wider version of Oiseau de Feu. I cast on 91 stitches, used size 4 needles and 2 skeins of Knit Picks Gloss Lace in Sterling. I cast on using an 8 or 9 needle--there's actually a chance I did one border with an 8 and one with a 9--so that the edge would be nice and loose to make points with.

One thing I do need to work on when knitting this sort of lace is that I always slip the first stitch so I'll have a nice edge, but I invariably make that slipped stitch too loose, because I'm all anxious that it'll be too tight and not stretch. It's never too tight. It always stretches, and in fact, the slipped-stitch bits are a bit too loose and look messy. Something to work on, I guess. I find it amusing that this is my big challenge when knitting lacy things. Nupps? No problem. Wacky charts? Grafting? Provisional cast-ons? All ok. Slipped stitches are another story.